A Cage of Clouds
by Waffles43
Summary: Kumo no ori, a cage of clouds. Like a bird, Naruto Hyuuga seems to be stuck, hated in his own village and disowned by his family. When a shinobi from the cloud kidnaps him instead of Hinata, how will his life change? Smart!Naruto, Juuken!Naruto
1. Chapter 1- The Power of Fate

**A Cage of Clouds**

**A/N: I apologize for not updating my other stories. I've been having some family things to deal with, and I ended up lost on the road of life... No not really. Still, I couldn't really think up the next part of my stories, much less write them, so I'll be taking a short break from them until I have a bit more time.**

**Meanwhile, here's my new story. I like it, as it's the first one I've wrote where no one has any clue about the future or insane powers. I have to warn you though, the first chapter will be more story-telling, not descriptive battle scenes, or major plot twist suspense madness. Sorry. You'll just have to wait. (Evil laugh)... On with the story!**

**Don't own Naruto.**

**Summary: **Kumo no ori, a cage of clouds. Like a bird, Naruto Hyuuga seems to be stuck, hated in his own village and disowned by his family. When a shinobi from the cloud kidnaps him instead of Hinata, how will his life change? Will things finally look better in a village that understands the plight of the jinchuuriki? Caution, Naruto will not be dark or vengeful! Smart!Naruto, Juuken!Naruto. Pairing will most likely be Yugito.

"Speech"

**Jutsu**

**"Demon/summon speech"**

'Thought'

**'Demon/summon thought'**

_Flashback_

_._

**Chapter 1- The Power of Fate**

* * *

Fate.

Fate is what made the Hyuuga clan into what they were. The branch clan was fated to serve the main house until the end of their days. Whether it was by domestic servitude, guarding, or staying away, the branch clan had always done what was asked. To protect the secret of their legendary dojutsu, the Byakugan, a seal was put on the branch members so their dojutsu would be destroyed upon death. It was also a cruel way to induce painful punishment for disobedience.

Fate was sealed for this clan. One path to be followed for the entirety of their days. Without wavering, without doubting in their purpose.

A five year old boy looked at his clan from the branch of a large tree. They knew he was there, just outside the walls, but each of the Hyuugas tried to ignore him. Why? The small boy with spiky blond hair and pale white eyes was supposedly a bastard child. From the day the boy was born, Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure, had kept his parentage a secret. It would have been dangerous indeed if Iwagakure or Kumogakure had found out that Naruto Hyuuga was the son of Konoha's Red Death and the Yondaime Hokage.

No one knew Minato was the son of a Hyuuga shinobi and a Namikaze kunoichi, since they both died before he could be raised. The Namikaze had died in the hospital, without a soul knowing of the father, who died himself on a mission weeks prior. It was a tragic twist that the orphan, now named Minato Namikaze, had blue eyes, thus could never use the Byakugan to honor his father.

With the ability to conquer all obstacles, Minato lived through his life, eventually becoming the Hokage and meeting the woman of his dreams. They day they had a small, pale-eyed child, a masked man ripped the Kyuubi from his wifes seal and attacked Konoha. The pair of them gave their lives to keep the village and their son safe.

The clan heads were not told of Naruto's parents, leading the Hyuuga to think he was illegitiment.

And poor Naruto didn't know better than to believe them. To the blond Hyuuga, he was a freak, demon, and a shame to his clan. From his tree branch, Naruto looked down at the branch house holding his cousin Neji.

He met Neji when, after he was kicked out of the orphanage, he snuck into the clan that rejected him, searching for someplace to sleep.

**Flashback**

_Naruto was running away from the orphanage as rain poured down from the heavens. Tears flew from his eyes as he wondered why the hated him. 'I'm a demon!' he shouted in his mind, 'no one cares for me! Hiashi-sama doesn't even let me stay with the other branch Hyuuga... why?'_

_The world seemed at odds with the blond. Though he already had his Byakugan, the clan wouldn't acknowledge him. Once, when he had visited the clan, as he did twice a year, they didn't even let him have a scroll detailing how to use his dojutsu. He could barely even activate it!_

_While he was running from the orphanage, he forced himself to think back on happy memories. His Jiji, the Hokage, was always nice. He always cared, and he even got Naruto presents for his birthday! Oh, how he hated the extra shunning he'd receive on his birthday. NO! He tried to go back to the better thoughts. He tried his best to stay on track, but the dark, dreary night kept bringing back his failure of a life._

_He made it up to the wall by the clan compound, deciding to go see that one kid he met last year. Neji Hyuuga, he remembered. The boy lived in which house? Naruto seemed to remember it as the one with the small training ground near it._

___Seeking the house of his fellow clansmen, h_e expertly scaled the wall. 'If anyone can understand me, he should be able to,' Naruto reasoned without any logic at all. He just wanted a friend.

_After much avoiding the people in the compound, none of them used their Byakugan for everyday purposes, he found the house. He was happy that no one training their eyes caught him in the act of sneaking in. Sneaky as he was, the blond jinchuuriki climbed the wall to what seemed to be a bedroom._

_He slid open the window and jumped inside the house. On the bed, a boy shot up, started._

_"Ah!" Neji yelped, too quiet to draw attention from his father._

_"Hey Neji," Naruto commented with joy at finally finding his somewhat-friend._

_"Oh, hello Naruto. What brings you here?" Neji readjusted the bandages on his head and sat up at the edge of the bed, looking at the still-standing blond._

_Naruto looked down. "I was kicked out of the orphanage, and I don't have enough money for an apartment."_

_"I see." Neji's look of surprise slowly morphed into indifference. His cousin in front of him may have experienced bad things, but he wasn't a bird caged, tied by fate._

_"Why do you have bandages on your head?"_

_"They gave me the caged bird seal..." The six year old in question turned away. "Why haven't they sealed you as well? You aren't even a real member of our clan."_

_"Hey!" Naruto shouted, still too quiet to wake anyone up. "I'm a Hyuuga, just like you!" The boys didn't know the reason that Naruto didn't have the seal. Hiruzen made the Hyuuga elders promise not to, under punishment of death. The Kyuubi was too powerful of a bargaining chip for the already influential clan._

_"Hn. Fate must have a reason that you don't have it."_

_"What is it with the fate stuff, Neji?"_

_Naruto looked at his cousin expectantly, arms crossed over his stomach. There seemed to a great deal of tension in the air, mixing with the sadness radiating from the two boys. "Our paths are laid out from the beginning. I was fated to get the seal, just as you were not. I am to serve the main branch, while you live your painful life free of my cage." The younger boy chose not to mention that he had no idea what the caged bird seal was._

_"You're in the Academy this year?" The jinchuuriki asked. The topic was growing too dark and depressing for his usual happy-go-lucky mood._

_With uncharacteristic happiness, Neji replied "Yeah! My teacher is..." _

_Their conversation went on for a good deal of the night, then Naruto took a position on the floor to sleep. By morning, Hizashi came into the room, startled to see both boys sleeping on the floor. Hizashi was the only man to notice the resemblance of Naruto and Minato, seeing how he was close friends with the later. He was fully aware that Minato's girlfriend, Kushina, was about to have a child very close to the time the blond was born. He smiled at the two of the them, then left to make them a quick breakfast._

**End Flashback**

Naruto now remembered that time from a month ago with both joy and depression. Now he knew it was his fated to be despised, but on the bright side he met his cousin. The members of the branch family unknowingly lived lives similar to his, where no one inside the main branch would acknowledge them, and they were all treated like trash.

He had noticed this connection for the few days he spent with Neji before he was ratted out by another branch family.

Full of fond memories of his cousin, Naruto leaned back against the trunk a bit more and decided he wouldn't go to his apartment (His Jiji had given him a small one). Sometimes, on beautiful nights like this, he would look at the clan and then the stars and just think. Both seemed great from the outside, but how much freedom did stars have to move around?

'Sometimes I wonder, Konoha, are you caging me like Neji? Is it my fate to stay hated and ignored?' Naruto pondered for hours on end in that spot. Usually, the Hyuuga wouldn't bother him. Some of the more arrogant branch member would continually make fun of his supposed heritage, though a few of the more normal ones only ignored him. The only person to visit him on multiple occasions with good intent was Neji.

Neji had seemed to lose more an more of his positive attitude and became absorbed in the concept of destiny. Naruto didn't mind, he had a friend like he always wanted.

It was December, two months after Naruto's birthday, and one month after he was rejected from his home to live on his own. That month had gone by fast, yet Naruto never seemed to do much. Mostly meditating on his situation and sometimes proclaiming he would be the Hokage in front of civilians. He needed to prove them he could overcome their hate and not be ignored.

Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi stared through his crystal ball with a sigh. What was he thinking? Telling the council about Naruto's jinchuuriki status and not mentioning his parents. The Byakugan was a shock to the old Kage, though everyone knew what those pale white eyes meant. It was just a matter of time over the years to see when Naruto would unlock his dojutsu.

The former god of shinobi remembered when the boy was four, and he came in the office yelling that he was seeing funny. Hiruzen laughed when he saw that Naruto was subconciously using the Byakugan, not yet having control over the kekkei genkai.

As a peace-loving man, Hiruzen cared that Naruto was treated right. But he couldn't be too public in his support for the boy, otherwise the Hyuuga could wind up at odds with him, and the civilians would hate him too. 'I'm way to old for this. They should all just get along and deal with Naruto. When you get past the hyperactiveness and depression, Naruto's a great kid. So why do they only see the Kyuubi, or a fake Hyuuga?'

The paperwork on his desk called his name, plucking his thoughts from Naruto. He now had to deal with a whole host of new things, the first and most important of which was a peace treaty with Kumo...

* * *

"Raikage-sama!" A jonin stood in front of a ripped man, waiting for his instructions. 'A' was a tough Kage, and he needed a way to increase the villages power. They had almost no kekkei genkai, and only two jinchuuriki to offset that.

The Raikage was a tall man with bulging muscle. Other than his white hat, which he wore somtimes, his upper body was void of clothes. He had two golden-colored cuffs on each arm to help conduct electricity for his Raiton taijutsu. The man always wore black pants that miraculously weren't too tight.

As brutal as he looked, the man was utterly serious about their military strength.

"Kiroshi, I have a job for you to do at the peace summit." 'A' felt slightly disguested that Kumogakure's success was going to come down to stealing bloodlines. The Kage had a heart, and a true respect for family. After all, the Raikage lineage was all family, and he would endure endless torture for his brother, Killer Bee. But some things just had to be done.

The man in question tilted his head full of straight black hair at his kage. With a curious look in his brown eyes, the jonin asked "What is it, A-sama?"

"The Hyuuga's Byakugan has been avoiding us for some time. No matter what, the damn seal destroys all of the eyes of the dead we recovered, so we need a Hyuuga without the seal. A live one."

"You want me to abduct the Heiress?" The man asked.

"No, there is a much easier target."

"Without the seal?" The jonin's eyes were full of disbelief. The Hyuuga were insanely protective of their bloodline.

"If my spy information is correct, an illegitimate Hyuuge by the name of Naruto Hyuuga still lives." 'A' slid a mission file stamped _confidential, S-rank _across his desk. "You will use the peace treaty as a cover to get in and get out. No one can know for sure who did this or why. Understood?"

"Hai Raikage-sama!"

* * *

**Aaaaand, cut. That's a wrap people, good job. Freddy, I want you to start on next scene. That one will be about Naruto's kidnapping and the initial reactions.**

**I'm sorry if I portrayed either Kage as a dick, they are politicians after all. They have their village to worry about not just one kid. Neji will probably not be as arrogant, but he will be a fate-sucker like cannon. Until someone gets to him. Sorry, for Hizashi lovers, he's still going to end up dead in some way. The man just plays too big of a role in Neji's character to stay alive. Maybe if there are enough protests he won't die.**

**No, Naruto is not going to hate Konoha!**

**No, Naruto is not somehow going to be better at the juuken than Neji (at least until they meet in the chuunin exams). **

**No, the Raikage doesn't somehow know Naruto's parents or that he's a jinchuuriki.**

**Thats all I'm giving away here.**

**Until next chapter...**

**Stay troublesome,**

**~Waffles**


	2. Chapter 2- The Will of Destiny

**A Cage of Clouds**

**A/N: Thank you for the support and encouragement! I will reveal nothing as to the future of the story unless you beg me in a pm or review...**

**Don't own Naruto**

"Speech"

**Jutsu**

**"Demon/summon speech"**

'Thought'

**'Demon/summon thought'**

_Flashback_

**Chapter 2- The Will of Destiny**

* * *

Destiny is a road winding through the forest. Everyone will reach their destination at some point, but everyone will take their own path. It is impossible to see the next turn until the turn is already upon you. Even the speeds you travel on this road are a predetermined fact, chosen by your will to run and the tools you have to travel.

Naruto did not have a clue what his path one, or what his destination would be.

Though his thoughts were not so sophisticated, he was a child after all, he understood that he had very little control over his future. As a hated civilian of Konoha, it was hard to convince anyone to give him what he wanted, even food. An apple here and there from a guilty child, maybe, but it was not enough to change his road. No, the Hyuugas always believed in the roads being linear, nothing able to influence their fate.

Maybe Naruto could say that he hoped to wind up camping off the road in a forest. Unlike his clan, he was blissfully unaware of his true destiny. sacrifice was theirs, so what was his?

He was quite the philosophical child, the jinchuuriki, and he was also an idealist. Most children were. As he watched the party cavort through the streets from his signature tree, he wondered what he did to be shunned away from their festivities. _When I'm Hokage, everyone will be more equal. _He thought this not in a hopeful manner, but with the normal melancholy undertones of his life.

The lights and bright floats were off to his left side, leaving the right, his clan's compound, to be mostly dark. The festival was to commemorate signing a peace treaty with Kumo, an act Naruto did not understand was full, but was happy with the connotation of peace. A huge dragon roared through the streets while the people threw confetti at it. It swamped through the streets, the people on it sending huge fireballs into the sky with katon jutsus.

Naruto wasn't interested on that. In the mostly dark compound, there was a celebration of their own occurring. Why were that not a part of the festivities? Simple, it was the heiress of the clan, Hinata-sama's, fifth birthday.

Only having seen her once, Naruto sort of connected her to a fearless leader without even talking to her. Then again, he secretly hated her for not allowing him to stay with the clan. Sometimes a scapegoat was more vital to his health than bottling up his feelings and understanding that the village's hate was illogical. A kid can only take so much before he needs an outlet for his anger.

Still, the girl seemed almost like a mythical being, a person worth celebrating. Considering that he knew his view was insane, he was an imaginative boy who looked for cause of happiness in everything.

After pondering the nature of the birthday festivities for a while, he figured that the tree was way to far away to see anything properly in the dark. Even his Byakugan was having problems figuring out what was going on over such a large distance to the main house.

Wasting no time, Naruto jumped down from the tree, landing clumsily on his feet, as the drop was still slightly too large for his small stature. He shivered in the cold night air as he ran towards the main family's grounds. Currently, he was in the branch area. Many of the houses were petit, only large enough to house a family of four. They were clean and almost identical, raising a few questions as to what a family of more than four people did.

Then, he entered the elder's district. In it was a large house, mansion-like compared to the branch establishments, for each of the elders. On the end closest to the branch district was medium sized pagoda-looking house that was no doubt reserved for the head of the branch family, Hiashi Hyuuga.

He rushed past the elders as quickly as possible, they hated him more than most of the others, coming closer to the party. Dojutsu activated, he could see the huge clump of guests all gathered outside while the hieress, her family, and her guards stood inside. Naruto assumed they were talking.

Neji! He could see Neji in a small dojo with his father and someone he recognized as an elder. He was unable to decide why the three of them were in there during the celebrations, so he ignored it and continued his travelling towards the main concentration of branch members.

"Stop right there!" Someone shouted from behind him. He should have known wearing all black could not stop him from being caught by the all-seeing Hyuuga family.

He turned around to see a man in a dark kimono and tight black pants, dressed nicely for the party. The man's hair was a familiar shape. "K-ko-san?" Naruto asked, stuttering from the surprise. The two stared at each other with their Byakugan activated, sizing the other up.

"What are you doing here?" He seemed to bypass the usual insult for curiosity.

"I-I just wanted to say hi and do something with my family." He deactivated his Byakugan and fixed his pale eyes on the grass.

"You are no family of us."

"Then how do I have the Byakugan!" He exclaimed.

The pushed him lightly on the shouldes, hard enough for to land back first with a thump. "Get out of here." He turned around, veins receding back into his face, and walked towards the party.

"Ko!" Another person shouted this from their right.

Ko stopped. "Hizashi-sama?" He faced the incoming Hyuuga branch leader and wondered what was going on.

Hizashi was wearing a loose dark grey kimono with a stylish white undershirt, mirroring the attire of most of the older members of the clan. Ko seemed to be a copy. Hizashi looked exactly like his older brother, who Naruto had only seen twice. Hiashi was the clan head, so he felt honored that an outcast like himself would get to meet such an important man. Then again, the boy was friendly with the Hokage.

Eyes narrowed, he answered. "I think Naruto-kun deserves to at least see his family, ne?"

"B-but Hizashi-sama!" Ko exclaimed while pointing at the young boy, trying to say that he doesn't belong.

Meanwhile, Naruto couldn't be happier. He learned that Neji's father, Hizashi, was really nice from their last encounter during the time he slept at their house. Once he knew that Hizashi had found out about their little encounter, he had great admiration for the man who thought of him as a respectable person, someone who could let him hang out with Neji, his son.

"Don't defy my rules, Ko."

"Hmph. You're only the _branch _head, no better than me. We all live for the same purpose." Ko turned around and walked away, knowing that it was better to leave it at that. Hizashi saw his form blur and become part of the crowd.

"Naruto-kun, I owe it to you to teach you mroe about our clan." The boy's eyes lit up, practically showering sparks.

"Really! Dattebayo!"

"Calm down, Naruto-kun." Hizashi smiled down at his comerade's son with all the warmth he still had left. The man was on his last legs in his will to begin with, having served his brother for over thirty years of his life because of a few minutes at birth. Not that he was suicidal, just tired. Unlike other shinobi clans, the Hyuuga rarely retired, the elders being some of the few people to ever live into their fifties and sixties.

"What are we gunna do first?!" Naruto looked at him with big puppy-dog eyes, affecting the stotic Hyuuga to drop his normally Itachi-like personality.

"Hmm, I could take you to train with Neji-kun. Hinata-sama is supposed to drop by and meet with her new bodyguard." Hizashi motioned for Naruto to follow him, and together the proceeded at a walk towards the dojo. It wasn't strictly near the party, and was thus Hizashi's attempt to keep his son's friend away from and unnecessary hate.

"Who's that?" He asked, rubbing his head, lips pursed together in thought.

"Neji," the elder man sighed.

"Oh. Wait, I thought we were going to the party Hizashi-oji!" Naruto tugged on his arm and tried to get him to go the other way. Thinking quickly, Hizashi decided that Naruto was old enough to learn exactly why he was so hated.

"Naruto-kun, there is a reason why they don't like you." The pair stopped to talk, Naruto still tugging on the man's arm.

"Why's that?"

Hizashi patted him on the head lightly, still staring at him with a stoic expression. He was trying his best to keep Naruto happy, but it took a little bit of fooling himself into happiness to fool the kid. "Well, Naruto. People think that your father was a Hyuuga who secretly loved a civilian woman. They don't like when that happens, so they don't like you. They think half-blooded Hyuuga are a disgrace to the clan, but you aren't," he assured Naruto of that at the end.

"I-I don't get it. So I'm not really a Hyuuga?" He asked, saddened that he was loosing his clan. Hizashi patted him lightly on the head.

"Do you have our dojutsu?"

"Yeah bu-"

"Then you're more of a Hyuuga than half of these arrogant fools. Try not to be so negative about it." _Everyone is full of themselves. Hiashi abusing his power, the entire family celebrating Hinata-sama's birthday, and even Ko thinking he's too good for my rules. Why is my fate so slow to arrive_

"Is that why the rest of the village hates me too?"

"No, sorry, I don't know why," he lied. Unfortunately, he didn't feel overly guilty about lying over Naruto's jinchuuriki status, it could be tragic for a boy to know he bears such a burden. It'd be best, he thought, if Naruto lived his life to the fullest without knowing what weighs him down.

"Oh, I think I hate them, Oji-san."

"Accept that they're ignorant of the true you. If they got to know you they'd realize what a great kid you are, right? They're just assuming things."

"I guess," replied an unconvinced Naruto.

"We're here," Hizashi commented as the two arrived at the steps to a small dojo. There were red pillars, holding up a similarly red-tiled roof. The walls themselves were white, while the entire building streched about 2 floors into the sky.

The two walked in, pausing their conversation. Naruto was too eager to see his new 'brother' Neji, while Hizashi was worried that Neji had been hurt by the elder he was sparing with. They were ruthless toward the branch members, treating them like worthless pawns, and he didn't put it past them to take out some of those feelings on a child. They walked through the hallways through a decorative white-filmed door. From the outside, Naruto could see two figures in a spar. The smaller one on the right a few jabs at the other, who would easily avoid them. Then, the larger one would counter by breaking though his defence and getting in a few hits.

"Haru-sama," Hizashi bowed as he entered the room.

"Hizashi-sama," the other man replied evenly, bowing a little less deeply. Naruto and Neji stood frozen as the adults exchanged introductions, neither wanted to interrupt the formality.

"What brings you and _that_ here?" Haru spat.

"Oi!" Naruto exclaimed, "I'm a Hyuuga too!" He immediately felt stupid for breaking their conversation and drawing attention to himself. Neji frowned in a conteplative look, wondering just why Naruto was so hated. He knew that his friend was despised yet not why.

"You are a disgrace to the Hyuuga name," accused the elder.

Hizashi put an arm in front of Naruto. "He is under my protection, you do not want to go through me. Can't you let one boy see how great we Hyuuga are?" He tried to both state his slightly authoritative position and play on the man's pride.

"Do I need to remind you of your place, _branch_ leader?" Smirking, he held a half ram seal in front of his chest threateningly. The branch head clutched his head as numb pain pricked his forehead. The pain could have been much worse.

"Please leave us," he muttered.

"Fine. You better keep that _trash _on his best behavior." Naruto shrunk further behind Hizashi to avoid Haru's gaze. The three watched as the old man strutted out of the dojo.

Hizashi then told the boys that they had less than thirty minutes before the Hieress, Neji's cousin, would arrive to see her guard. By then, Naruto had to leave. Until then, he gave the two boys pointers on the Juuken taijutsu while they sparred lightly, without using chakra to disable the tenketsu points. Naruto needed much more work. His stances were sloppy, the result gathered from watching short tidbits of random spars and trying to piece together the overall style. That said, Hizashi was surprised at how skilled in observation Naruto was and how unpredictable the boy's style was.

Their fight continued for short spurts of two to three mintues each, until one of the young boys would lose breath. As a jinchuuriki, Naruto had unbelievable amounts of stamina and easily gained the most from the fight. With the things he learned in the short thirty minutes, Hizashi knew the boy would go far. Even without any more of these session, the middle-aged Hyuuga though that, with practice, Naruto could develop his own version of the Juuken. Unfortunately, he knew no way that the boy could get any of their jutsus. Unless he had a more respected reputation after he became a chuunin or jonin.

After their last spar, Hizashi made the two straighten up. Naruto had to trash his plain black t-shirt and shorts in favor of a kimono like Neji and his father. They waited for the two shadows they saw on the outside to enter the room.

As they both entered Naruto decided that the first was a carbon copyof Neji's dad. The only difference was there was no cloth tied around his forehead, like Hizashi did in order to cover his caged bird seal.

"Hello, Hiashi-sama," chorused the three branch members. Hinata followed behind her father, mostly hidden by his leg. She had lavender colored hair covering her face with multiple think strands. She wore all white, a very pretty kimono of her own. It was the same style as the rest of the branch, just different in color. Her eyes were also a prominent feature of her adoringly chubby face.

"Good evening, brother, nephew, Naruto." He nodded at each, seeming very confused mentioning the last one, knowing the boy was supposedly ostracized by the clan. Why would a hated boy be here? "Where did Haru-san go?"

"He wasn't able to fathom the sight of Naruto-kun, so he left." _Naruto-kun?_ thought Hiashi.

"Be polite brother," Hiashi snapped.

"T-tou-s-sama?" Hinata stuttered. "W-who is N-naruto?"

"H-hi," replied Naruto tentatively, finally meeting the heiress.

"Naruto-kun," Hizashi interrupted. He would have hated for Hiashi to get mad at the boy and place the seal on him, even if he was supposedly banned to do so, as Naruto was too valuable, being a jinchuuriki. "You should go. I'll find a way for you to stay at my house with Neji."

"Okay!" Naruto was happier than could be measured.

* * *

Naruto was plodding forward through the forests around the compound. He debated going to the Hokage and talking, but he figured it was far to late for the old man to be awake. In fact, he wondered if he should have been going to sleep soon. Maybe he'd just lay on that bench by the park and watch the stars. The parade was over, so that was a no go.

A few minutes later, Naruto was sitting on the bench, recalling the day. It went amazingly. He'd finally have a family, and his brother would be Neji! He met the clan head and future clan head. Hizashi even defended him from some of the meaner Hyuuga who didn't appreciate him.

For some reason, every sound that there should have been at night was silent. Naruto, oblivious to the eerie calm falling over the unpopulated park, began to drift off into a world of dreams.

He didn't realize that it was a simple genjutsu.

"Target captured."

* * *

**A/N: As promised, I finished chapter 2 today. Just in case you think Hizashi isn't emotionless enough, I assure you that he is just making an exception for Naruto. The poor kid had been through enough, being the pariah of both the village and Hyuuga.**

**Thanks for continuing to read! Oh, and sorry that Hinata only got one line, it wasn't logical to have Naruto involved in the two kids' training. Plus, Hinata was shy. You'll likely see a lot more of her and Neji later.**

**Stay troublesome,**

**~Waffles**


	3. Chapter 3- Expect the Unexpected

**A Cage of Clouds**

**A/N: Thanks so much for sticking with me in this story! I have a bunch planned and hope I can pull it off. This chapter is going to be a bit 'all over the place.' Just stick with me and things will go back to being coherent next chapter.**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto**

"Speech"

**Jutsu**

**"Demon/summon speech"**

'Thought'

**'Demon/summon thought'**

_Flashback_

**Chapter 3- Expect the Unexpected**

* * *

Hizashi was panicking. Well, he was fairly concerned, seeing how Hyuugas never panicked. Why? He had tried to find Naruto after the celebrations for Hinata, but he was nowhere to be seen. The boy's appartment, a new gift from the Hokage, was empty, he wasn't sleeping in the tree, and he wasn't even sitting on the Yondaime's head and watching the village.

'Where else would he be?' the branch Hyuuga wondered.

He ran back to the compound, into his house and looked through the rooms. In one, Neji was asleep, a placid look on his bandaged face. His father smiled, but wasted no time in checking all of the other rooms.

Empty.

"Naruto?" he mumbled, walking outside. He worried that the boy was finally attacked by either an angered Hyuuga or a mob of villagers. He'd feel like he failed Minato, his friend, if anything happened.

Wait, there was somewhere else he knew. Naruto sometimes went to the part on the outer edge of the village, maybe he was there.

He wasn't too famliar with the Kyuubi jinchuuriki, but he did make a habit of seeing the boy around a few times per week to make sure he was safe. He didn't talk to him, it wasn't his place or in his power. As much as the Hokage wanted the Hyuuga to adopt him, they knew he'd end up getting the caged bird seal 'one way or another.' The balance of power was an eternal, omnipotent force that no one wanted to disrupt.

Finally, panting only slightly, Hizashi arrived at the park. No one was there, it being early in the morning. He walked around, searching for a sign of the blond but finding none. Then, he stumbled on a bench with a t-shirt on the ground right next to it.

"Isn't that the shirt he wore to the party?" he thought out loud, looking at the blue shirt sideways. Naruto had taken the shirt with him, but it seemed like he didn't get out of the kimono that he leant the boy.

There was a track of footprints starting at the bench and running away towards the trees though the soft ground. "Oh Kami. Someone took Naruto." He made a bunshin to tell the sleeping Hokage and immediately took off, Byakugan activated to see where the man's footprints went.

* * *

Naruto felt groggy, bouncing up and down every second like he was a toddler. He couldn't quite see yet, everything was blurry, but he had an idea that he was being carried. It felt like someone was holding his body at their sides while jumping through trees.

'The last I remember, I was sitting on the bench. What happened?' he thought.

Slowly his vision was returning. The world was sideways as the man jumped through the sparse forest. Naruto saw his clothes, but couldn't turn his limp head up to see his face. The man wore a black hooded shirt and black pants, very inconspicuous at night, but not the best choice in a crowd. At the cuffs of his long sleeve shirt, Naruto could see dark olive skin and black armored gloves. Around his right wrist was a headband with three clouds. What on Earth did that mean, he wondered.

"Hello?" Naruto asked.

"You are Naruto Hyuuga." The man's quick statement demanded an answer. The branch Hyuuga had enough feeling his neck to turn his head and see his attackers face. The man was dark-skinned with a black bandana on his head, covering croppy brown hair with bangs that spiked down to his eyes. The man turned his dull brown eyes on Naruto, expectant of an answer.

"Y-yeah," he stuttered. "Where are we? What's going on?" He activated his Byakugan and glared at the man. His captor, he didn't know the man kidnapped him though, had jonin level reserves and tame chakra. On top of that, the blond couldn't recognize any of his surroundings, much less make sense of what happened.

"Nothing," the man replied, stopping. He grabbed Naruto's side harder and slung the boy over his right shoulder, freeing his hands. After a few hands seals, Naruto felt his body go numb again and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

"Hiruzen-sama!" A voice shouted. The Sandaime was asleep, it was 3:00 in the morning. "Hiruzen-sama!" the voice repeated, banging on his beddroom door.

The Hokage shot up and looked at the door. He knew that voice. "Inu! Its three in the damn morning!"

"Hizashi-san found something. Its about Naruto." Suddenly, the old man's eyes winded and he quickly grabbed his normal shinobi clothes, not his Hokage robes, and ran out of his room. It was kind of creepy to have ANBU inside your house in the Hokage mansion, but he had grown used to it over the years. It was still insane how often the job called for him being always ready.

"Hizashi!" He commanded, walking out of his room to see the silver haired ANBU and the branch Hyuuga standing there. "Tell me everything!"

Hizashi explained that he was a clone and the original was followed Naruto's tracks. "It's Kumo," the Hokage figured. "Kumo has taken Naruto-kun."

Kakashi, the ANBU Inu, looked down at the ground with Hizashi, both having one similar thought: 'I failed you Minato...'

"We need to send a team of ANBU after them, _now! _They have a five to seven hour lead on us. Bring Naruto back, Hizashi," he added, knowing the man could catch up before ANBU. The old Hokage nearly nad a heart attack after Hizashi told him the truth because he knew, deep inside, that the kidnapper already had too large of a headstart. Konoha would not cross to far into Kumo's boards to retrieve the boy, as Hiruzen knew it would provoke a war.

After the men left the house, he slammed a fist into the wall. "Dammit," he cursed, showing a rare bout of anger.

* * *

**Time skip 2 days**

* * *

Opening his eyes again, Naruto awoke. The terrain hand changed, now a mountainous region with huge jagged peaks and poofy clouds closer to the ground. In the vallies ran rivers, starting from the mountains and running all the way to the ocean. 'Where am I?' he wondered. He was on a path running through the mountains, only 20 miles from Kumo, not that he knew. It was dark, maybe late at night.

"Only two more hours now," the man commented, turning his eyes at the boy slung over he shoulder.

"Why did you take me from Konoha?" Naruto tried to glare at the man, reasoning that he was trying to take him from the village. He was surprisingly close to what happened.

"I cannot answer your questions," the man replied in a bored monotone. He stopped his fast pace, pulling off his bandana and tying it around the boy's eyes in a blindfold.

Naruto sighed visibly at the black cloth over his eyes."You do know that I can still see right?" The man groaned for forgetting that, cursing himself for not being able to maintain his clan's signature sleeping genjutsu for longer. His limit was two days, though he couldn't use it in battle.

"Soooo," Naruto said cheerfully, "what's your name?" He faced the man through the blindfold, using his dojutsu to see.

"..."

"What village are we going to?"

"..."

"Do you even talk?"

Was this his fate? To be stuck, carried like a sack of flour by someone he didn't know. Fate, fate was a cruel thing to the young boy, mixed with the added portion of destiny. Who knew, maybe his destiny was to never know where he'd end up. The last time he was conscious, he was beginning to think his fate might draw him to be brothers with Neji. Not that he worshipped fate like the _real _Hyuuga. How much could he really change, and how much was out of his control?

"..."

"Answer me you bastard!"

"Where did you learn that kind of language?" He asked, thinking of knocking the boy on the head. 'Well, It's for the best. Raikage-sama advised me to keep him asleep.' He tossed the boy down from his shoulders, making him land on the uneven path with an _umph. _

"Good night," the man stated, slamming his palm on the Hyuuga's head just enough to knock him out.

* * *

The Raikage was sitting in his office, tense. How was he to know whether the mission was a success or not? It had been two full days, and the anticipation was too much for any one man to handle. To be frank, until he discovered the unfortunate Hyuuga living on his own, he thought the task of kidnapping a main house member impossible. He had not a clue who this kid was before his spy heard word from a passing Konoha shinobi.

'A' slammed his fist into the desk, cracking it. Where the hell was Nekki? He should have gone himself to make sure the plan worked. Even though he disliked the morality of the situation, he was backed into a corner by the lack of bloodlines in Kumo.

He heard a quick knock on the door. The unseen ANBU in the room raised an eyebrow, thinking it'd be the person that made their Kage so bothered. "Come in," said 'A'.

The door creaked open revealing a man with unruly brown hair covering his olive face. He had an indifferent expression on with a slight twinge of annoyance. He tossed the small figure clad in a fancy black kimono on the ground. The boy had spiky blond hair and black blindfold on his eyes. Nekki, the now named kidnapper, crossed his arms.

"This was far more painful than you suggested A-sama," the man said.

"Why so?"

"I spoke to him for 20 seconds and he's as ridiculous as your brother," he deadpanned.

The Raikage doubted that anyone was as foolish as that rapper, Bee. "I assume this is the Hyuuga?"

"Hai. Can I go home now? My wife is probably worried sick, not knowing why I've been on a mission." At a nod from his superior, he left the room to go home. He wondered if his daughter would be awake this morning already, as it was about 6:30am.

"So this is Naruto Hyuuga," 'A' said to no one in particular while he looked at the small boy in front of him. He wasn't really sure what to do anymore now that he had the boy. What was supposed to happen? The kid willingly joins them in his naivety? They use him as breeding (the thought of which pissed off A)?

"ANBU!" He shouted. They all cowered internally at his loud, dangerous tone that promised pain for disobedience. "What do we do now?" Everyone seemed hesitant to answer, considering that the buff Raikage always thought that he knew best.

One of the braver shinobi replied. "We can get him checked out by the medics?"

"Uhh alright. That makes sense," 'A' rubbed his temples in annoyance. Even after he had finalized the plan he still didn't know what the hell he was doing. Shouldn't there have been someone in the village who had a clue about kidnapping kids?

After some quick thinking, he developed an assertive tone. He looked at the kid, out cold on the floor, and said, "I need a guard outside his room at all times. He's going to stay in the hospital for three days, hopefully we'll figure something out by then. Rat, you're guarding first. Bird, you're next. Someone get Tenga to talk to the boy and figure him out. **And where the hell is Mabui!" **

"H-Hai-Raikage-sama!" The four hidden ANBU stood up and each walked out of the room, one with an odd looking rat mask grabbed Naruto. Before they all got out, Bird turned around.

"Mabui is asleep," he sighed. "And we aren't..."

* * *

At the hospital, two hours later, a boy was asleep on a white bed. It was a pristine room, coated with newly painted white walls. Various machines beeped as a line rose and fell in peaks. A window in the wall let in some of the morning light. Sitting in a chair, a woman with a white hospital gown that had a cross on it talked to a man who had just entered. She had long black hair and based her entire future off of the study of iryo-ninjutsu. It appeared that the Raikage wanted to take no chances with determining Naruto's health.

He had a mark under his right eye and medium length, spiky black hair. The coat that he wore was a beige color with a dark grey hood and a stripe running up the middle. Tenga was an odd man. In the village of Kumo, not many wanted to learn the workings of the mind or how to use any justu related to perception. Fortunately for the village, Tenga was such a man. If he was able to be reborn, he'd surely choose to be a Yamanaka, just so he could realisticly apply his skills. At present, he was forced to sort through video feed at T&I, though he sometimes helped Airi, the most ironically named female interrogater in history.

"So what is the condition of the Hyuuga?" He asked the nurse conversationally.

"He's slightly malnurished and has been for quite some time. This wasn't caused from the trip here, I assure you. He also has insanely large chakra levels for a five year old, maybe low genin already. His bloodline appears to work fine, not like I'd be able to tell that for certain. He's a little bruised and battered, but it seems like he will be totally fine in a few days."

"You have no idea who he actually is either, eh?"

"No," she replied, a bit downcast. "It's wrong. I only care about helping people, it's my life, and I didn't think I'd live to see the day where I have a kidnapped child as a patient. He was malnourished though... it's somewhat justification, considering that he is in far better hands."

"I agree, but we shouldn't voice dissent. It's the Raikage's decision, and we all just go with it. After all, this village has been doing great since 'A' took his the Sandaime's position."

"I thin-"

She was interrupted by a high pitch yell. "What the HELL! What's going on?" Naruto was awake and utterly confused. He had no clue why he'd be in a hospital if he was just kidnapped a few hours ago. He wasn't aware of the time that he was out cold.

"Didn't Nekki tell you anything?" Tenga asked, concerned and annoyed. The man was a brick wall, but he was good with his clan's genjutsu.

"Who?" Naruto asked.

"Nevermind, I'm not allowed to talk about that," he amended, making a hand gesture with his hands for the nurse to leave.

"Then what can you talk about!" Snarled the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. He was fed up with all of that crap. He tried to move his arm and hit one of his captors, only to find it paralyzed at his side, caused from some sort of poison.

"Fine, kid, look. I need get an understanding of you first. Okay?" He tried to comfort the distraught boy, only receive a short nod and a softening of his features. "First, what's your name?" Thus began the barrage of questions.

Reluctantly, he answered. "Naruto Hyuuga."

"So, Hyuuga-san, were you a branch or main house member?"

"Branch."

"Are you aware of the caged bird seal?" The man eyed hin with a raised brow.

"Yes," he replied, deciding on one word answers.

"Do you know why you don't have it?"

"No."

"Who were your parents?"

"Don't know."

"How do you view your village?"

Naruto paused, this questions was a little more revealing. He didn't really want to pour his soul out to an enemy of the village. Jiji would hate him if he got back. 'An answer for an answer,' he thought. "What village am I in?"

The kind of qualified _'_interrogator' groaned visibly. With enough of his studies, he knew that he had to help out the kid to get anything more worthwhile. "You're in Kumogakure."

* * *

**A/N: For sake of a consistent chapter length, I'm stopping it here. Next chapter Bee will make his appearance and Naruto will begin his life in Kumo. I warn you, he won't always be this distrustful. Tenga was that guy... just search him up on Narutopedia xD. Also, more of Konoha's actions.**

**Until next time**

**Stay troublesome,**

**~Waffles**


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